- The drafting record of general manager Travis Schlenk has put the Hawks in position to be contenders for a long time, states Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Schlenk didn’t have a lottery pick in his first draft, but was able to get John Collins at No. 18. Since then, he has added Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish and Onyeka Okongwu. Even if Collins leaves in free agency, Hunter is poised to take his place, Bradley adds.
Joe Prunty and Jamelle McMillan are expected to become part of Nate McMillan‘s revamped coaching staff with the Hawks, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Prunty, who began working as an NBA assistant in 1996, has spent time with a total of seven different teams and briefly served as the interim head coach of the Bucks during the 2017/18 season. Prunty, who last coached in the NBA in 2018/19 as a Suns assistant, was the head coach of the Team USA squad that played in the AmeriCup qualifiers earlier this year. He and Nate McMillan worked together in Portland from 2008-10.
Jamelle McMillan, who is Nate’s son, has spent most of his career with the Pelicans, including several years as an assistant under Alvin Gentry. He joined the Suns for a season in 2018/19 before rejoining the Pelicans, but was let go in 2020 when Stan Van Gundy was hired by New Orleans.
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- After previously sharing a lengthy list of prospects who have worked out for the Hawks (or will do so soon), Chris Kirschner of The Athletic continues to add to that list. According to Kirschner (Twitter links), Atlanta is also auditioning Derrick Alston Jr., McKinley Wright IV, Chaundee Brown, Matt Coleman III, Nojel Eastern, Joshua Primo, Ibi Watson, Quade Green, Olivier Sarr, Feron Hunt, and Vrenz Bleijenbergh prior to the draft.
- Kirschner teamed up with John Hollinger of The Athletic to preview the Hawks’ offseason, digging into how much a contract for John Collins and an extension for Kevin Huerter might cost the team. Collins’ situation will be much trickier than Huerter’s, according to Hollinger, who wonders if Atlanta can avoid a max deal for a Collins and re-sign him to something in the $100-110MM range.
- In the second half of their Hawks offseason primer, Kirschner and Hollinger consider possible targets for Atlanta on the trade market and in the draft. Hollinger points to Miles McBride and Trey Murphy as two prospects who might be fits for the club with the No. 20 pick.
The Wizards own the No. 15 pick and they’ve been very busy working out players. Guards Chris Duarte of Oregon, Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and Josh Christopher of Arizona State visited last week, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. They brought in some less heralded prospects on Tuesday, a list that includes Mitchell Ballock (Creighton), D.J. Carton (Marquette), Matt Coleman III (Texas), Ryan Daly (St. Joseph) and Mark Vital (Baylor), according to a team press release.
Potential first-round Jaden Springer (Tennessee) heads the list of prospects who will work out for the club on Thursday, Hughes tweets. They’ll also take a look at Zane Martin (Towson), Asbjorn Midtgaard (Grand Canyon), Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon), Micah Potter (Wisconsin) and Guilherme Santos (Minas-Brazil).
We have more draft workout info:
- Jaden Springer, a point guard currently ranked No. 27 on ESPN’s Best Available list, has also worked out for the Knicks, Spurs, Thunder and Pelicans, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report tweets.
- G League Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga, ranked No. 5 by ESPN, worked out for the Cavaliers on Wednesday, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. The Cavs hold the No. 3 overall pick.
- Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech), Dalano Banton (Nebraska), Chaundee Brown (Michigan), Sharife Cooper (Auburn), Jalen Crutcher (Dayton) and Mac McClung (Texas Tech) will work out for the Pacers on Thursday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets.
- The Hornets hosted Vrenz Bleijenbergh (Antwerp Belgium), Feron Hunt (SMU), D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State), Ethan Thompson (Oregon State), Romeo Weems (DePaul) and Marcus Zegarowski (Creighton), the team’s PR department tweets.
- Illinois big man Giorgi Bezhanishvili is working out for the Hawks Thursday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. He’s also worked out recently for the Bucks and Grizzlies.
Sign-and-trade deals are expected to be plentiful this summer and the largest one could involve Hawks forward John Collins, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Most contenders have limited cap flexibility, so league insiders are expecting the sign-and-trade option to be used with several of the top free agents.
Collins, a restricted free agent, could be on the move because of the perception that Atlanta doesn’t view him as a max player. Team owner Tony Ressler said last week that the team is hoping to reach a “fair agreement” with Collins, which raises questions about how high the Hawks would be willing to go to match an offer.
League sources tell Fischer there will be a “sizable market” for Collins once free agency begins next month. The Mavericks have been considered a possible destination for some time, and the Timberwolves are another team to watch, according to Fischer.
He shares some more rumors involving potential sign-and-trades:
- Dennis Schröder turned down a four-year, $84MM extension offer from the Lakers and is expected to be on the move this summer. Fischer notes that Schröder wants a bigger salary and a larger role in the offense, but he’s not likely to get either in L.A. The Bulls and Knicks are expected to have interest in the veteran point guard, according to league sources, and a sign-and-trade is the Lakers’ best opportunity to add talent this offseason. L.A. will also continue to see what it can get in return for Kyle Kuzma, Fischer adds.
- The Sixers remain interested in Raptors guard Kyle Lowry and he’s believed to welcome the chance to play for his hometown team. Several contenders will have their eyes on Philadelphia guard Danny Green, who represents another sign-and-trade opportunity.
- Giving P.J. Tucker a new deal with the $12MM average salary he asked for in Houston would push the Bucks over the tax apron. Fischer states that the Nets have been interested in Tucker since they started negotiating the James Harden trade, and the Heat expressed interest as well when they talked to the Rockets about Victor Oladipo. Fischer identifies the Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets and Jazz as other teams to watch, along with the Timberwolves, who are led by former Houston executive Gersson Rosas and have been trying to acquire Tucker since the 2020 draft.
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and Warriors forward Kelly Oubre are two other potential names on the sign-and-trade market, according to Fischer. Sources say Brooklyn kept Dinwiddie past the trade deadline so he could be a potential sign-and-trade asset, while Oubre offers a chance for tax-strapped Golden State to pick up talent. Fischer names the Mavericks, Knicks and Heat as teams that would be interested in both players.
Following up on Shams Charania’s report that the Knicks have been the most aggressive trade suitor for Collin Sexton so far, Marc Berman of The New York Post confirms that the team has the Cavaliers guard on its trade radar.
According to Berman, the Knicks would’ve picked Sexton over Kevin Knox in the 2018 draft if he had slipped to No. 9 instead of being selected at No. 8. Berman adds that Knicks forward Obi Toppin, who played his college ball at Dayton, may be a player the Cavs would target in a trade.
A source tells Berman that the Knicks – who hold the 19th and 21st overall picks – are open to trading out of the first round entirely in order to acquire an “established player.” Sexton has certainly established himself as a talented scorer, having averaged 24.5 points per game in 2020/21, though it’s unclear if New York would be willing to offer both of its first-round picks in a package for him.
Here’s more from around the East:
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explores whether Sexton might be a fit for the Heat, concluding that such an acquisition would have to be accompanied by another significant addition in order to make Miami a legit contender in the East.
- Ayo Dosunmu, Daishen Nix, Kessler Edwards, Cameron Thomas, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Josh Christopher, Joel Ayayi, David Duke, Joe Wieskamp, Luka Garza, Moses Wright, Justin Champagnie, Sandro Mamukelashvili, John Petty, JT Thor, and Carlik Jones are among the prospects that have worked out for the Hawks or will do so soon, reports Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Jalen Suggs is considered the most likely pick for the Raptors at No. 4 and has been referred to as a potential Kyle Lowry replacement. However, Eric Koreen of The Athletic isn’t convinced that the Raps will – or should – resign themselves to losing Lowry if they draft Suggs or another guard, suggesting that the veteran point guard’s free agency won’t be dependent on which player the team selects in the draft.
- With Bradley Beal eligible for free agency next summer, the Wizards may value veteran help more than the No. 15 pick they hold in the draft, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. He notes that not many teams are willing to part with useful players in exchange for a mid-round draft choice, but he proposes a few trades involving the Knicks, Lakers, Hawks, Grizzlies and Pacers.
- Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari has confirmed on Instagram that he will play in the Tokyo Olympics. Gallinari has been representing Italy in international competitions since he was a teenager, but this will be his first Olympic Games.
John Collins‘ playoff averages of 13.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game (in 32.0 MPG) don’t jump off the page. However, people around the NBA believe the Hawks big man bolstered his case for a maximum-salary type investment this offseason with his postseason performance, says Shams Charania of The Athletic. Collins played a key role in Atlanta winning two series as an underdog and getting to within two games of the NBA Finals.
Since Collins will be a restricted free agent, the Hawks will have the ability to either sign Collins to a new deal themselves or match any offer sheet he signs with another team. Still, the club has projected reluctance to go all the way up to max for the 23-year-old, so a rival suitor could put pressure on Atlanta’s ownership and front office by presenting an aggressive four-year offer. The Mavericks, Heat, Spurs, and Timberwolves are among the teams expected to display interest, sources tell Charania.
Here’s more from Charania:
- The Rockets have been actively exploring ways to move up from No. 2 and acquire the Pistons‘ No. 1 pick, sources tell Charania. A report last week suggested Houston has been “fixated” on Cade Cunningham, the top prospect in this year’s draft class, while multiple reports have stated that Detroit likes Jalen Green and Evan Mobley, so it’s possible the two teams could be motivated to work something out.
- The Rockets have also been discussing veteran guard Eric Gordon in trade scenarios, according to Charania. Gordon, who still has two guaranteed years left on his contract, would be a better fit on a win-now team than a rebuilding Houston squad.
- Isaiah Todd, who played for the G League Ignite in 2020/21, is canceling draft workouts with teams late in the first round, including the Jazz, and is focusing on teams with lottery picks, says Charania. That seems awfully optimistic for a prospect ranked 47th overall on ESPN’s big board.
- Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has been impressing teams, including the Pelicans, during the pre-draft process, per Charania. Robinson-Earl ranks 60th on ESPN’s board.
- Now that he’s had the interim tag removed, Hawks coach Nate McMillan knows that expectations will ramp up for a team that reached the conference finals, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. “Things just for whatever reason went right, and we had a lot of success,” he said. “We know that expectations are going to be higher for us next season. But the one thing we’ve tried to keep this team locked in on is just us. Not the outside noise and what people are saying we should be or shouldn’t be because at the beginning of the season, they weren’t saying what they’re saying now about us. So you can’t focus on that.”
JULY 8: The Hawks have officially announced McMillan’s new long-term deal with the team.
“The incredible job Nate did after taking over this season made this an easy decision,” Schlenk said in a statement. “We were able to see how gifted a tactician, motivator and leader he is first-hand and the high level of respect and trust he earned from our players made securing him as our head coach our top priority.”
JULY 5: The Hawks have an agreement in place with Nate McMillan that will make him the team’s permanent head coach, president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk told reporters today (Twitter link via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic). McMillan’s new contract will be a four-year deal, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Schlenk said the two sides are “drawing up” the contract, so an official announcement should come soon (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). According to Schlenk, the Hawks and McMillan reached a deal in principle on the morning after the squad advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals (Twitter link via Marc Stein).
McMillan began the 2020/21 season as an assistant on Lloyd Pierce‘s staff. However, after Atlanta got off to a 14-20 start, Pierce was let go and McMillan took over as the interim head coach. The Hawks finished the season on a 27-11 run and then beat the Knicks and Sixers in the first two rounds of the playoffs before pushing the Bucks to six games in the Eastern Finals.
Although they entered the year with playoff aspirations, even the Hawks weren’t counting on getting to within two wins of the NBA Finals. McMillan helped Atlanta exceed expectations in both the regular season and the postseason, all but guaranteeing the team would attempt to keep him around on a permanent basis.
There were rumors that the veteran coach – who previously led the Pacers, Trail Blazers, and SuperSonics – might draw interest from other suitors, but it appears he never seriously considered moving elsewhere. Schlenk said today that the Hawks offered McMillan the permanent job before the regular season ended (Twitter link via Kirschner).
McMillan has an overall regular season record of 688-599 (.535) during his NBA coaching career. That puts him 20th overall on the all-time list of coaching victories, and fourth among active head coaches, behind only Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers, and Rick Carlisle.
- Melvin Hunt, who was the Hawks‘ lead assistant under Lloyd Pierce, won’t return to Atlanta next season as part of Nate McMillan‘s staff, according to a report from Chris Kirschner and David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link).